


Bittersweet Constrain

by formidophile



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Bisexual Character(s), Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, Kidnapping, Medical Horror, Mutual Pining, Torture, the wlw relationship has a bad ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-12
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-07-11 05:02:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15965270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/formidophile/pseuds/formidophile
Summary: She threw her hands up and shouted, "Iaman idealist! I wouldlovea world where nobody got hurt, and everyone's problems could be solved bytalking it out."She laced her collar, looking them straight in the eyes. "But this isn't that world. And some people simplydeservedeath and suffering."Mary is an impulsive young woman bewitched by darkness, with a heart full of venom and longing. Her obsessions drive her into the heart of Gotham City, for better or for worse.





	1. Chapter 1

She took a deep breath and rubbed the bridge between her eyes before putting the phone back to her ear. “I did not drive eight hours in two days to be _out of a job._ I was _assured_ that I could be relocated.”

“We’re sorry. If you’re willing to move to Bludhaven, we would-”

She ended the call with a tap, threw the phone on the sofa, and stood there and _fumed,_ grasping at air. “Michael?” She called out, and without waiting for an answer, went to the open door and leaned out. “Michael.”

“It’s fine, I’ll help you bring these in.” Said a man who was unloading boxes from her car and piling them on the sidewalk. “How did you fit all of these _in_ here?”

She squared up and came down to help him. “Sending stuff by plane is expensive. I’ve been saving up for this, but I don’t..There’s no reason _not_ to save money.” She looked over the pile, and gently picked out the one marked “altar” in large sharpie letters. “How many hospitals are in Gotham?”

He smiled, hefting up one of the larger boxes and following her inside. “Probably more than anywhere else. The newest one is probably Elliot Memorial.” She set the box gingerly down on the sofa with her phone and purse, zipping it open to look for something. Michael set the box on the floor and was jogging down the steps to get another.

It would be alright. She was in a new city up north, living on her own for the first time, and recently learned that she had to find a new job. But it would be fine. Everything was going to be fine. Michael came in with another large box and set it on top of the other. “They renamed that one, though. There’s a bunch of smaller ones, and the asylum’s always hiring, too.”

“I’m not suici- wait, why the hell would someone _rename_ a _hospital?”_

“Long story.” She followed him this to move her stuff into the house. “You know about how this city breeds weird people, right?”

“So I’ve heard.” With a sizable pile on the sidewalk, she checked the trunk and backseat for anything she’d forgotten. Finding nothing, she closed the car up and locked it.

“Well, Thomas Elliot used to be this famous surgeon. He dies, gets a hospital named and built after him.” He lifts another large box marked “books” and looks at her. “Turns out, he not only faked his death, but he goes nuts, and tries to kill Bruce Wayne. And I think take his place.”

“..There is- There is so much to _unpack_ here-” She hastily grabbed a box and followed him into the house. “First of all, who the hell is Bruce Wayne? Second, _why?_ Did he have some kind of crush?” 

“Maybe. The Waynes and Elliots were both these wealthy socialites, they went way back. How do you not know who Bruce Wayne is?”

“Knowing about the hottest celebrities is not on my priority list.” She set her box down on the ground and tried to tear it open. “But what did they change the name to?”

“Thomas Wayne Memorial.” He jerked his thumb outside. “There are just a few more, I can get them.”

She nodded, dragging the box closer to a wooden entry table by the wall and began shelving the books from the box. This box was mostly medical textbooks, she noticed - left over from college that, she supposed, she didn’t have the heart to get rid of. A thought came to her and she gasped, running to get something out of her purse.

 _Thump._ “That’s all of them.” She found what she was looking for. “Hey, it’s Mary Williams, right?”

“That’s correct.” She said, pulling out a letter and handing an envelope over the couch. “Deposit. In cash.”

“Right. Awesome.” He idly smacked the envelope in his hand. “If you need anything, my contact info is on the fridge, rent’s due by the end of the month. Cool?” 

“Yes, of course. Thank you for helping me move in.” She picked her phone off the couch and looked through her contacts.

Michael bit his lip. “Right. Right, I’ll..Keys on the table.” He knocked his fist on the aforementioned table before turning out. “Take care of yourself.” And with that, he closed the door.

She tapped her phone, and looked around at her new home. It was a _little,_ partially furnished place with a tiny backyard and an even tinier front lawn. It was comfy. But she could unpack and get comfortable later.

She owed someone in this city a _date._

 

 _“Mary!”_ The shout startled her up from her phone. “Steph!” Both women grinned, and Mary dropped her phone on the table and slid out of the booth to squeeze her.

“You _made it!_ How are you settling in?”

Mary chuckled. “I’m out of a job, but I’ll live.” She pulled away, but only a little. “Can we _please_ get food? I haven’t eaten in hours.”

“Oh! Sure.” They slid in across from eachother and Mary shoved her phone into a pocket of her leather jacket. Stephanie tapped her fingernails on the table. “Did you tell the..?”

“Oh, yeah, they knew I was waiting for someone.” She smiled, and shoved her hands in her pockets. “I would have gotten a tea or something while I waited, but..North. Speaking of which, it’s too cold for February.”

“Doesn’t seem to have affected you _too_ much, miss fishnets.” She leaned her cheek on her hand. “What happened with your job?”

“So I just _get_ here, and the hospital suddenly doesn’t have any openings for lab technicians. Oh, but they can relocate me to _Bludhaven!”_ Two menus were laid in front of them, and a waitress took their drink orders. “Which also sounds like a city of goths, but nonetheless. This little diner is adorable, by the way.”

Stephanie grinned. “It’s one of those little local gems. My friends come here sometimes, but it’s so close to the GCPD that you see a lot of them at most hours.”

“Oh, and I heard the story of Thomas Elliot.”

Her grin faltered.

Mary shrugged. “I was bound to hear it eventually. I was surprised I didn’t already, considering how many stories I’ve read out of Gotham.”

“You heard a lot of them from me, too.” The waitress came by with their drinks - a coke and an ice water. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you had a big wall of newspaper clippings.” Stephanie sipped her soda and grinned at her.

“I don’t have an _obsession_ with _anyone!”_ She stirred the idle around in her water. “Ridiculous.”

The waitress took their orders. They were both silent for a few minutes afterwards.

“..Do you know where you’re gonna apply?”

“Probably Wayne Memorial. My landlord said it was the newest one.” She closed her eyes for a moment, thinking. “And there’s the.. _moving cities_ nonsense, and..the waitress heard me say that. I look like an idiot.”

“Hey, no.” Stephanie reached out to poke the other girl’s hand. “She’s probably had to deal with way weider stuff. It’s Gotham, right?”

“..Yeah. I suppose so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> count the headcanons! here we have hits such as gotham is on the coast of minnesota, stephanie is bi, and many radical others.


	2. Chapter 2

Mary flopped into her bed facedown and groaned into the covers.

Two weeks. Two weeks of dealing with the DMV, her cellular service, registering her residence with everyone she could remember to, and going through the hiring process of Wayne Memorial, which, in some great stroke of luck, had _plenty_ of openings.

She decided that she would simply lie there for a few more minutes before doing anything else.

Turning over on the bed, she glanced around her little bedroom.

The last two weeks had given her plenty of time to make her home feel like a home. Her bedroom felt like a sanctuary - She had her altar set up on the dresser, right in the sunlight, her makeup arranged on the desk, and a lovely comforter on the bed with a pattern of lavender sprigs. In addition, the candle-lit mason jars she put around the house made it feel warm and moody.

She didn’t start work until next week.

Maybe she could watch a few movies, or something.

 

She yanked on the cord coiled around the little man’s ankle, and sent him toppling to the ground, clutching onto his hat and dropping the stolen goods.

He hissed through his teeth as he turned on the woman, but she held the cord tight. Before he could reach down to untie it, she gave it a sharp tug and dragged him along the rooftop. “You- You’re going to ruin _everything!”_ That piping on the side _might_ be sturdy enough to restrain him to. She gave the cord another yank when she heard him shuffling to reach it. “Not happening, Tetch. Spoiler alert, you’re going back to-” Her buzzing earpiece interrupted her thoughts. She tapped it. “Now’s not a good time.”

“Come help me find a leyline.”

“Mary, it’s _one_ in the _morning_ an-” A metallic snap sounded behind her, followed by the quick shuffling of feet. When she turned around, she saw the severed end of her line and a retreating Jervis Tetch that had already made it to the fire escape. She didn’t hesitate before giving chase.

“I know what time it is, I...I can’t sleep. Please?”

**“It’s _really_ not a good time!”**

“So you _won’t_ help me?” Mary continued, as Stephanie slid down the ladder of the fire escape. “I suppose I could go find it by myself. Alone. In Gotham.” She landed with a thud of her boots, but he was already gone. There wasn’t a trace of him seen in the alley.

 _“No!”_ She gritted her teeth. She dashed over to a cluster of trash cans nearby, but finding them all empty, she kicked one over in rage.

“So you’ll help?”

Stephanie took a deep breath. “I’ll meet you at your place in an hour.” She tapped her earpiece before waiting for an answer and stomped out of the alleyway.

 

“But you _really_ need to not call me during the night.”

“We used to do it all the time!” Mary sounded absolutely incredulous. “There was this one time we- what, we were up until five in the morning arguing about something stupid.” She parked the car on the side of the road and took out the keys. It was a tiny little road, cracked with nature threatening to take it back. Overgrowth nearly obscured the sky, not that they would have any light through the clouds. They had probably passed the actual city limits not long ago.

“I’m serious.” Stephanie zipped up her coat and got out, looking Mary in the eyes. “Just _please_ promise me you won’t do it again.”

“Alright, I promise.” Mary flipped her hood up and pulled a flashlight out of her purse, flicking it at a printed-out map of the area. “I won that argument, by the way.”

“Pinhead was not _in love_ with Kirsty.”

Mary grinned wide, shuffling off into the overgrowth. “Sure he was!” A light behind the bushes was the only indication she was behind the mass of thorny branches. _“Kirsty Cotton, mean and rotten, gone to hell, but not forgotten.”_ Stephanie rolled her eyes as Mary rhymed, stomping off after her. _“Saw the beast who crushed the dove, met the devil, made him love.”_

“He was a monster. He doesn’t _love_ anything.” Even underneath her puffer coat, Stephanie was feeling the chill of the night. Mary, who was at _least_ wearing pants tonight, didn’t seem deterred by it. “It’s supposed to snow tomorrow. Do you know where we’re going?”

“Kind of,” Mary admitted. They stuck close together while navigating through the trees. Mary had given up on holding the map and the flashlight and had instead opt to just mark the area on her phone. “We won’t get lost, at least. Probably.”

 _“Probably.”_ Stephanie repeated.

“Probably.” Mary dug into her purse, handing the flashlight out to Stephanie. “Here. I’d let you go in front, but I...couldn’t see over you.” She looked up from her phone into the gloom of the woods.

Stephanie flicked it on, shedding light on the path ahead of them. “I’m pretty sure I gave you advice that was the _exact_ opposite of this last time we hung out.” There was no path in these woods, no trail for them to follow. Stephanie swiped a branch out of her face. “What happened to those people you met? You sounded excited.”

“...I don’t know.” Mary shrugged, staring at her phone. “I don’t know if I would ask them to do this. I don’t know anyone else well enough.”

“Then what about the whole _not going out at night_ part?”

“I didn’t _care_ about that part.” Mary kicked a stick out of her path. “I _do_ like Gotham. But I want to breathe _air,_ and I want to see the _stars_ again without having to deal with the damnable light pollution of the city!”

Stephanie came closer and put a hand on her friend’s shoulder, walking alongside her. “This is what we’ve been talking about. I’m glad you’re _here,_ Mary, but…” Stephanie paused for a moment, and the only sound was the crunching of leaves underfoot. “I’ve never heard you say _anything_ nice about cities. No offense.”

“None taken,” she muttered. “...Just something I had to do.” Mary switched her phone off and stuck it into a pocket, clouding her features with darkness. “Your friends were nice.”

“You and Harper hit it off.”

“I-” She laughed nervously. “If by _hit it off,_ you mean I could barely talk to her, then yeah.” Mary smiled despite herself, hands still shoved into her pockets. “The scene here is nice, at least. I don’t…I don’t _need_ more goth friends, but they’re nice to have.”

She poked Mary on the shoulder. “So, how are we supposed to find this thing without GPS?”

“It _should_ be recognisable.” Mary trekked a little ways ahead of Stephanie, taking the lead in the darkness. “Actually, if I read the map correctly, It should be a _crossroad_ of leylines, which would implicate something _significant.”_

“Didn’t you tell me leylines were _hokey nonsense?_ Why are we out here in the woods looking for one?” She stared at the back of Mary’s little blonde head. “Can you really even _see_ a leyline?”

Mary shook her head. “Leylines are intangible. It’s _true_ that their potential is wildly exaggerated.” She took her eyes off of the ground to look back at Stephanie. “But it’s _also_ true that they originate from old, great places of power, like-”

“Arkham Asylum.”

Mary scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“No.” Stephanie tapped her friend’s shoulder and stepped up to her side. “Look.”

Between the trees, illuminated by security lights, stood the old Arkham Asylum. The towering gothic building looked gruesome and hostile under the cloudy skies. For a moment, the gate around Arkham seemed to have more _unearthly_ purpose than to simply keep its violent patients inside its walls. The smaller blonde looked on, transfixed with the sight, until Stephanie tapped her shoulder.

“We should leave.” Mary murmured, tugging her hood further over her head.


End file.
